This project conducts forums for about 20 journalists from the Sasakawa Southeast Asia Cooperation FundŐs four target countries, Thailand, Malaysia, and other neighboring countries, and Japan, in order to promote knowledge of attitudes toward journalism in these countries, deepen mutual understanding, and build personal networks for the future. This year's forum addressed such topics as the events leading up to Thailand's gaining press freedom, problem areas of Thailand's freedom of information law, the information gap in Asia, and investors' view of the countries of Indochina. Engaging in lively debate, the participants gained a deeper understanding of these issues. The forum also served to give participants a better grasp of the state of journalism and people's attitudes toward it in various countries through discussion of the extreme paucity of information in Myanmar and the upheaval in post- Suharto Indonesia.